“Have you been speaking to anyone about stuff that I’ve been
telling you?” He asked.

“What do you mean? Speaking to who about what?” Winnie
asked.

“I noticed that you’ve been asking so many questions about
my friends and I’ve been hearing stuff…” He said.

Winnie’s eyes widened.

“Are you calling me a gossip?”

“No…I’m not doing that but I just want you to keep things
I tell you a secret because the walls have ears.”

“I only asked you about that friend of yours who’s dad is in
jail and…”

“Hey…that’s a false story.” Steve said quickly.

“Huh? What do you mean by a false story?”

“That story wasn’t real…there’s none of my friends with
dads in jail.”

Winnie looked at Steve in confusion, she was thinking of
what to say when she heard a familiar voice yell out her name.

“Winnie!!”

She turned and was surprised to see her mother. Her mother marched
up to meet Winnie and Steve and yelled at them.

“Who are you and what are you doing with my daughter?” She demanded.

“We…she’s…my friend.” Steve started. “Good afternoon
madam.”

“Keep your dirty greetings to yourself!” Winnie’s mother
screamed, then turning to regard Winnie, she said. “Get into the car now! So this is what you do at summer lesson huh? This is the height of it, I’m pulling you out of this lesson today!”

“I’m going with Mira…she’s waiting for me in her
car.” Winnie started

A loud slap resounded against her cheek and some students
who were standing at the gate of the school turned to stare. Winnie held her
cheek as tears welled in her eyes.

“What have I done?” She asked.

“Don’t ask me any stupid questions. Get into the car now because we’re going home!”

Winnie turned around and ran, her mother stared at her in shock as she couldn’t believe that
Winnie was actually running from her.

“Winnie! Get back here! Winnie!” She screamed as she hurried
after her.

Steve stood there like a statue, he didn’t know what to do.

******************

Winnie watched her phone ring over and over again, she was
seated on a small pavement in a street she’d run into. She wasn’t ready to answer
anyone’s calls. Mira, her mother and Steve had been calling for the past three
hours but she wasn’t taking anyone’s calls. She quickly dialled a number and
heard it ring.

“Can you walk out to the entrance to the street and check
the name of the street so that I can come pick you up?”

“Do you promise not to tell my mom where I am?” Winnie
asked.

“I promise…”

“Okay…because I never want to see her ever again.” Winnie
said.

*****************

It was already getting dark and after searching for Winnie to
no avail, Kate was already at home waiting with a cane. The clock struck eight
pm and Winnie wasn’t home yet. Kate panicked.

“I know that boy is her boyfriend. The stupid girl is already a
girlfriend to a street punk!” She hissed.

Her husband walked into the house with a bag of goodies, she
stood up from the sofa and walked over to hug him.

“I got treats for everyone!” He said in delight. “I just
landed a big deal!”

“That’s good….” She said with a smile.

“You don’t look ecstatic, what’s the matter?”

“Winnie is not home yet.”

“What do you mean by she’s not back yet?” He asked.

“I mean that she’s not back from her summer school yet.”

“Have you gone to look for her?” He asked in worry.

“I actually went to pick her up but she misbehaved so…I
slapped her and she ran away.”

“What are you saying?”

“You heard me…” She said.

“Kate, is something wrong with you? How could you have
slapped her in front of her school mates?”

“Why shouldn’t I? That girl’s teen drama is too much for me
to handle. I never gave my mother this much stress when I was her age. Can you
believe that she was at the front of her school, flaunting herself with her
boyfriend?”

“Boyfriend? Did she tell you that he’s her boyfriend?”

“No…but I guessed.”

Winnie’s step-father shut his eyes in anger and when he
opened them, he was furious.

“If Winnie doesn’t come back home tonight, I think you’d
better look for where to spend the night.” He said.

“What?”

“You heard me…”

Winnie’s mother watched her husband leave the sitting room
in anger. She wore her slippers and stepped out into the night.

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ABOUT ME

Adaeze Ibechukwu is a writer and Storyteller . She's been writing since she was child and has published two children’s short stories at the age of nine. She was the 2015 Story Series Writer of the year at the Nigerian Awards and also named one of the most influential writers under 40, by the platform. She has also written scripts for movies and stage plays.

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Adaezewrites.com is a storytelling platform aimed at providing entertainment and fun for readers. Adaeze Writes, is committed to building a strong reading platform for Nigerians, Africans and everyone who loves a good story.
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